


A Matter of Loyalty

by Princess of Geeks (Princess)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Age of Sail, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-08
Updated: 2011-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-19 05:50:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/197628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess/pseuds/Princess%20of%20Geeks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "A Hand for Your Hand". In this Age of Sail AU, Daniel is a pirate captain and Jack the mercenary sent to capture him. Thank you to Sid for proofreading. Written for the 2010 JD Ficathon on Livejournal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter of Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Hand For Your Hand](https://archiveofourown.org/works/70827) by [Princess of Geeks (Princess)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess/pseuds/Princess%20of%20Geeks). 



  


Daniel was warming thoroughly to the pleasant task of exploring Jack's mouth with his, chasing away the remnants of the night and replacing them with his own taste, when he felt Jack frown. Strong, callused hands closed around Daniel's naked shoulders and gently pushed.  
  
Daniel pulled back enough to see Jack's face. "What is it?" Daniel said.

"I don't know. Perhaps nothing. But..." Jack pushed harder with one hand and caressed Daniel's cheekbone with the other, and when he'd dislodged Daniel's reluctant weight from his thighs, he rolled aside to gather his clothing. He yanked on breeches and shirt, and as he turned for his boots, Daniel, surprised but finally also moving, gathered his wits and began dressing. It was hard to stop what he'd been doing, to give up his focus on Jack's skin, Jack's mouth, and put on clothes again, because all that meant standing up, leaving their makeshift bed, resuming life as it had gone on outside this cabin, this refuge, during their short surprising night. In the night, he'd been able to forget the past and the future. But Jack was frowning now, and Jack had pulled away. Their stolen night was over. Further, Jack was worried, and that signaled nothing good.

"What do you--" Daniel tried again, standing and buckling his belt, from which his empty scabbard swung free, another reluctant reminder of his defeated position.

Jack cut him off with a grumpy-sounding "Aht," turning an accusing palm to him and glancing toward the decking above their heads. He cocked his head to listen. Whatever Jack was hearing, Daniel couldn't identify it, but his heart began beating faster at the warning, and he strained his ears. Ordinary ship noise was all he could catch, but he well knew that Jack would hear things, and the absence of things, on his own familiar vessel that Daniel, the stranger, would not be aware of at all.

Leaving the bedding and the tangled evidence of their lovemaking where it lay, Jack strode to his desk. He plucked a key from some concealing crevice that had eluded Daniel's search the evening previous, and then turned quickly to unlock one of the chests. From it Jack produced a rapier on a belt, which he buckled on. Pausing a moment, and regarding Daniel keenly, he pulled his hidden knife from his boot, this time bringing out the cleverly made, easily hidden sheath, as well as the blade. He handed it to Daniel, then bent again to pull a length of cord from the chest.

Jack said, "Stow that knife for yourself, just in case. But we're going above, and so--" Jack gestured with the cord, a little reluctantly, Daniel thought, as Daniel slipped the knife into his own boot. Jack's level gaze managed to be both wary and chagrined. Daniel turned his back and allowed his hands to be tied again. Jack squeezed his shoulders, and went to the door without another word. He'd made Daniel's new bonds barely tight enough to survive scrutiny. Jack threw back the bolt and drew his sword.

Daniel, hands bound, followed awkwardly as Jack silently climbed the ladder to the deck. Jack was somehow conveying by the set of his shoulders and the tilt of his head that he was once again entirely the captain and not Daniel's new and extremely unlikely paramour. Jack paused at the ladderhead to sneak a careful glance around before climbing the last few rungs, and exposing himself and Daniel to the morning.

Daniel, in a fleeting moment of calm, caught a whiff of the fresh breeze, and heard the voices of many gulls, carried low across water, all crying together. The ship was close in to shore, then; closer than he'd have expected, judging by their course at sunset the previous day.

Then Jack's head came around, swiftly, and he shouted in French, "To me, to me, Lieutenant! Ferretti! To me!"

Daniel, hampered on the ladder by not being able to use his hands, clenched his jaw and leaned and craned his neck to see. Jack was scrambling over the ladder's head, and then he almost fell, in his haste, and recovered his feet, and disappeared out of sight around the ladder's roof. And then: "Goddammit!" he cried in English. There was a clash of steel.

His heart racing, Daniel braced his shoulder on the side of the hatch and heaved himself up, cursing his earlier acceptance of the cords around his wrists. In a fight, he'd be utterly helpless now. He gained the deck, crouching low, and turned the corner to see Jack engaged in a close contest with, of all people, Teal'c. The last time Daniel had seen Teal'c, he was falling overboard from Daniel's former ship -- spared, like Daniel, because of Jack's mercy.

 _"Halt!"_ Daniel shouted, and was ignored. By them both.

The duel was furious, sunlight glinting off metal as the long blades flew. A glance up and down the deck showed Daniel that none of Jack's crew had answered his call for aid, and that Daniel's own _Abydos_ once again was kissing gunwales with the _Victory._

Men were approaching at a run -- not Jack's crew, but men with familiar faces, a handful of men, all hurrying to take up positions flanking Teal'c, yet not attacking, not yet. Instead they would wait for a signal, as their commander continued the duel he had chosen for himself. There was no question that they would all wait for a clear sign before ambushing Jack -- of this, Daniel, who well knew Teal'c's sense of honor, was certain. Other crewmen ran to Daniel, and greeted him with relief.

"Rothman," Daniel murmured at the first to touch him, and his stunned reaction was unfeigned as his first mate slipped behind him to cut the cord at his wrists.

"Lovely swim we've had this morning, Cap'n," Rothman quipped, as his short blade slid cool and sure against Daniel's skin.

Hands free again, Daniel turned to grip Rothman's shoulder, stilling him, and then returned his attention to the duel. He stepped cautiously closer, bringing Robert with him. Jack seemed an even match, so far, with Daniel's former commander; what Jack lacked in weight and strength he made up in mobility. Their two blades were a blur, the clash and grind of each exchange achingly clear on the morning air.

"Teal'c, stop!" Daniel exclaimed. "I'm completely unharmed! Stop!"

His words had no impact on the fighting. But Jack, his attention still focused on his swordwork, shouted something to Teal'c that stopped Daniel, stopped him with sheer amazement. Daniel had traveled three continents, prided himself on his knowledge and his learning, could speak to representatives of a dozen peoples in their native tongues, and he was shocked that Jack shouted a terse sentence to Teal'c in a language Daniel did not know.

But Teal'c knew it, Daniel could see. Teal'c's eyebrows rose, and he backed up, allowing Jack to catch his breath and to circle warily to the left. Jack, Daniel noticed, was bleeding freely from a graze on his left shoulder. Teal'c was unmarked.

Then, "Hold," Teal'c shouted, speaking Arabic. He was addressing not Jack but Rak'nor, the latest to glide up behind Jack, and Rak'nor obediently stopped, his blade at ready, and just out of reach of Jack's should he turn.

Daniel sucked in a nervous breath and Jack spoke again, urgently, in the same unknown dialect, and Daniel, intent, still surprised, in a flash was able to rule out the language families of Arabic, Turkish and Latin.

 _What the devil?_ Daniel thought.

"Speak Arabic," Teal'c demanded, still _en garde,_ and still allowing Jack his cautious circling. Teal'c did not seek to reengage his blade. The crew from the _Abydos_ hung back, watching. Daniel flung up a hand, adding his caution to Teal'c's, underlining Teal'c's desire to let this play out. "Speak Arabic, Captain O'Neill. I have no secrets from Jackson!"

"Fine," Jack said, in the requested language. "Have it your way," and Daniel shook his head, even more amazed. Pure literary Arabic. Would this man ever cease surprising him? "As I was saying, I most certainly spoke the truth when I let you go yesterday. I have no intention of harming Daniel Jackson. And if Bra'tac were here, he would vouch for my honesty, since my actions aboard the _Abydos_ aren't enough to convince you yet."

Teal'c's eyes narrowed in surprise, but his blade remained at the ready as he stepped slowly to his right. He opened his mouth to answer, but just then Daniel's attention was captured by an unmistakable whistle, high overhead, as the breeze brought the distant report of a cannon.

Daniel recoiled instinctively, drawing in his neck like a surprised turtle. He looked aloft. The whistle was punctuated by the crack of a spar, and the sheets and sails at the top of the second mast groaned as they flapped free. Daniel winced and glanced out to sea. Bits of tackle and huge splinters splashed into the waves. He let his gaze track the apparent path of the ball, out and away, over the quiet swells, and there, unbelievably, was the _Avalon,_ just coming about, her forward gun trailing a thin finger of smoke. She had returned, too, after the battle of the day before. Impossible, but true: The evidence was right there.

Sam Carter and Teal'c had come back, at great peril to themselves and what was left of their fleet -- come back for Daniel. He couldn't believe his eyes.

He'd watched Sam flee, to spare her own crew, after the battle Jack had lured the three of them into. And in the wake of that surprising defeat, in the wake of the boarding of _Abydos,_ the destruction of the _Isis_ , and after watching Teal'c fall into the ocean at Jack's forbearance, Daniel had been certain he was now alone. He'd borne his comrades no grudge for saving themselves and as many of their pirate crewmen as possible. He himself had accepted that the three of them had finally, after all these years, been defeated by a superior foe, and he had been willing to bow to Fate by placing his life in Jack's hands.

But his predictions, his assumptions, about Sam and Teal'c had been wrong. He had been as wrong about this day as he had been about Jack's intentions during the night. His mind reeled. His comrades had returned! This action today was an ambush, with rescue as its purpose. Daniel glanced at the bare top of the mainmast, where Jack's Portuguese colors should have been flapping in the light breeze. Apparently his own crew's remnant and Teal'c's men had struck the colors upon boarding. That must have been the signal that the ambush had succeeded; the signal for Sam to fire. And fire Sam would.

Daniel had to stop her. He ran for amidships.

"The flag! The flag!" he shouted. "Where are the colors? And paint, Robert! For God's sake, man, find me some whitewash. Or some of that blue for the trim -- anything!"

Daniel had been these men's captain until only yesterday, the day their world had changed, and they obeyed him now. In a matter of minutes Daniel was slopping a wide, white, rough, upside-down V across the double stripe of Jack's red-and-green flag, and daubing the three big open circles above it.

"There," he gasped, pushing the flag at Rothman and Coburn and then leading the way to the foremast. "Hoist it! Quickly!"

Another shot came whistling, finding its target unerringly, and another spar, trailing all its canvas, majestically crashed into the sea. Daniel clenched his fists and cursed as the amended colors crawled up, far too slowly. He had to stop the cannon fire. This ship shouldn't -- couldn't -- be crippled. He had to make Sam hold. It probably wouldn't be an all-out bombardment; _Victory_ was too valuable a prize for that, but Sam didn't know yet that there was no need for her to be firing at all. He was here, he was safe and free. Daniel would lay a bet in gold that Sam was calculating the angles herself, as she always did, and no artillery engineer Daniel had ever met had better aim, but even her surgical strikes would create massive damage in a very short time.

The new makeshift colors were aloft now, and flapping in the shore breeze. Daniel watched intently for a sign from Sam's ship, squinting, wishing for a glass. There -- _Avalon's_ flag dipped, an answer, and he could see her leading sails start their telltale billow. Sam would bring _Avalon_ around and run down to them now. There would be no more cannon fire. He sighed and squared his shoulders. Teal'c and Sam had come back. For him. Daniel was stunned. They should have followed the plan, let him fall behind, regroup in Algiers with the survivors, as their standing plan had always been.

He thought back to the battle of yesterday, and to the surprising night of lust and tenderness that had followed. He thought back through the years, the years of turmoil and evasion, of relentless pursuit and evanescent triumph. He thought of Jack's dark eyes. And he wondered if this was a rescue, or a return to a captivity that had only felt like freedom.

Steel still clashed with steel. Daniel turned to see that Teal'c had engaged Jack again, their swords a blur, and now Teal'c was pressing the attack, using his superior weight and reach.

"Do not speak to me of Bra'tac," Teal'c was saying, and his unlabored voice was cold. "You would try to trade on our past? You misjudge me, Captain O'Neill. Again."

And with a final circular parry that made Daniel bite his lip in admiration, Teal'c twisted his blade around Jack's and flipped Jack's free. As it sailed through the morning air, clean over the side of the ship, Daniel stepped in close. He drew his hidden knife. Jack lifted his chin defiantly, cradling his twisted wrist as Teal'c aimed the tip of his sword for Jack's throat. Daniel's borrowed knife clashed against Teal'c's blade.

"Don't kill him, Teal'c," Daniel said quietly.

Teal'c narrowed his eyes. "Remove your blade, Daniel Jackson."

"Teal'c, please."

"You have no right to intercede for him. You have no right to hinder this duel."

Daniel took a steadying breath and firmed his arm. His blade slid against Teal'c's sword.

Teal'c's shout was harsh. "Remove yourself!"

Daniel stood still. Watching Teal'c's face, bracing his arm, he raised his own voice. The crew should hear this. The rift between himself and his commander could not be concealed and it was pointless to try. "The battle against O'Neill and the crew of _Victory_ is already over, Teal'c. We all saw it end yesterday." Heads were turning, faces frowning. "Don't start it again. Let it be over for all of us, in the same way that it's already over for me. No more killing now. Not here. Not him."

Teal'c frowned, and with his superior leverage, disarmed Daniel of Jack's knife with a quick twist. The blade clattered to the deck, and Daniel stood his ground, arms outstretched as if in a plea. Teal'c loomed over Daniel. "Many of our men and women died, yesterday. For you, and for me. You would deprive them of their revenge?"

Daniel was relieved to note that crewmen were stealthily gathering round, frowning and attentive. Teal'c had raised his voice too, so that it would carry to them. A dispute like this couldn't be concealed, hidden, had to be conducted publicly. The men of their ships weren't quite organized as a democracy, but it was the nearest thing to.

"They knew the risks," Daniel declared, his empty hands sweeping wide in a gesture that wasn't defiance, but wasn't exactly surrender. "They are all volunteers, all for freedom -- the freedom of being on their own, without country, without allegiance but to us. They fought well. Now let it be."

Teal'c rich voice held a note of astonishment. "Has a night and a day among the Portuguese destroyed your courage? This is how you repay Samantha and me for coming back? With words of cowardice?"

Daniel met his eyes squarely. "It's over, Teal'c. Let it be over."

Teal'c frowned and stepped back, sheathing his sword in a smooth sweep.

He turned to stare at O'Neill, who stared back without flinching, empty handed as he also was. Teal'c glanced up to mark the _Avalon's_ swift progress, and then he called, "Rak'nor! Bind O'Neill. Take him below with the others."

Daniel met Jack's eyes as Jack held still, letting Teal'c's men tie his hands behind his back and roughly search him for hidden weapons. Jack's face was shuttered. He didn't look away until he was pulled out of Daniel's sight. Daniel released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Robert," Daniel began, as he watched Teal'c's retreating back. It was a truce, not an ending. He felt that strongly. "I'll need water for washing, and I believe the new prisoner may need a cold drink, after his duel."

Rothman looked puzzled, but stepped away to comply. Daniel could tell he had more questions than answers about Daniel's status in the fleet now, but old habits died hard.

As he waited, lingering at the site of the duel, for Robert to return, Daniel noted that Jack's ship was now swarming with a mix of his and Teal'c's former crewmen. They were investigating, adjusting, exploring, all the hands exhibiting a pleased air of settling in. Robert brought him water, and he hurried below to find Jack in one of two individual cells, hands still tied behind his back, whispering intently through the bars with Kawalsky, who'd been put with the rest of the surviving _Victory_ crew in the main cage.

"Jack," Daniel said, stepping up to the grille.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Ah, Captain Jackson. I guess turnabout's only fair."

"Here," Daniel said, frowning, and pushed the waterskin between the bars. Jack still looked askance, hesitating. Daniel jerked the skin impatiently, waiting for Jack to bring his mouth close enough, and he finally did, accepting a swig of water from Daniel's hands. Daniel watched the muscles work in his throat, and had to close his eyes. That drop of water, sliding down Jack's chest the day before. Jack's brown skin, so smooth and warm against his own.

Daniel murmured, "Didn't you hear me up there? It's over. I'll take responsibility for you with Teal'c."

Jack looked incredulous. But he accepted readily as Daniel gave him another drink. Then Jack licked his lips, sparking another burst of improper thoughts in Daniel's brain. Jack whispered, "And what about my crew, eh? Did you spare them a thought?"

Daniel glanced over at the crowded cage, full of angry men massed around Kawalsky, and hissed, "Give me some time to talk to him. You can see they have us dead to rights."

Jack's frown darkened, and his shoulders shifted as he stretched his wrists behind him, testing his bonds. "They? _You_ have us dead to rights, Daniel. You and your friends."

"What are you saying?" Daniel returned. He glanced at the others. Kawalsky was frowning, too, and listening intently. The others behind him crowded close. Jack's crew. Jack's own men, who would die for him.

"You two are just waiting for Carter, now, am I right? You all had a plan; you had a fallback. I'd allowed for that, but I expected it closer to Gibraltar. _Avalon_ hadn't hightailed as far as I'd expected her to. My mistake." Jack sounded so bitter. Not defeated, not resigned. Bitter, and angry.

"Of course we had a fallback, but it didn't involve me this time. _They_ had a fallback, certainly." Daniel met Kawalsky's defiant gaze. "I'm just as surprised as you are, honestly. I didn't think they'd honor the old plan; I thought when I was captured that they had accepted the defeat and chosen to save themselves. That was the rational thing to do. And also: Isn't that exactly what you told Teal'c to do before you released him on the _Abydos_ yesterday? You vouched for my safety and urged him to run for his life, yes?"

Jack stared at him, frowning. He was sweating, after his duel; his hair was stuck to his forehead. The bleeding at his shoulder had stopped. Daniel gave him another drink. Again Daniel had to tear his gaze away from the muscles in Jack's throat, from noting how drops of water escaped and disappeared under his collar. Only last night....

Daniel continued gently, "I've been a brigand a long time, Jack. People don't generally count loyalty as something to be honored in this way of life."

Jack shook his head as he licked his lips. "I thought you said you knew Teal'c. I thought you were friends. Sweet Jesus." He appeared to gather his thoughts, staring through the bars and shifting his shoulders. "Do you always expect the worst? I guess that's a good tactic for corsairs, but -- wait. I forgot. You started out in this fleet with revenge. And you were never in a navy at all, for any nation, before you got hijacked into this life."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jack met his eyes. "Just this: Teal'c is very, very angry with you. And I think you don't have the first idea why."

"What?"

"Captain Jackson? The commander is asking for you." It was Robert, sent once again to look for him. Robert glanced at Jack curiously.

Jack said lightly, "Your toast must be getting cold. And don't miss the jar of honey from the captain's stores. It's fresh."

Daniel let Robert lead him back up, and when he looked over his shoulder, he found that Jack was glaring after him, while Kawalsky, just beyond, looked as puzzled as Daniel felt.

When Daniel once again gained the deck, the fast rising sun was barring the polished boards with the shadows of the _Avalon's_ rigging.

"Daniel!" came the familiar shout behind him, and he turned toward Sam's voice just as she engulfed him in a tight hug.

Her cropped hair smelled of gunpowder, and as she pulled back and cupped his cheeks in her rough palms, getting a good look at him, he realized his decision to throw his lot in with Jack would be even harder to stick with than he'd first thought. This felt like goodbye, like a farewell long planned, but that didn't make it any easier. To hide the conflicting emotions that wanted to pour across his face, he pulled her in again, grabbing the shoulders of the long, man's jacket she always favored, holding her close as she laughed.

"So! Let's see this handsome prisoner you've brought us, Daniel. I think he'll have more to contribute to our cause than anyone since, oh, since Captain Rego, certainly."

"Willingly or unwillingly," Daniel said wryly, falling into step beside her.

"I guess that part will be up to him," Sam said, squeezing his arm, and looking puzzled when he didn't join her laughter.

Teal'c greeted her calmly enough, and led the two of them to a table he'd had set beside the mainmast and laid for breakfast. As Daniel seated himself, he was surprised to see Rak'nor and another crewman bring Jack along the deck and shove him into the fourth chair, Jack's hands still bound behind his back.

Daniel sat, and poked at the food, and listened with a tight-leashed calm for an excruciating hour as, at Teal'c's bidding, Jack watched them eat their fair breakfast from his own stores, while Sam plied him with questions. Teal'c's stony gaze held Daniel fast in his chair.

How many hours, from Tripoli to Alexandria, with a fair wind and a full hold, aboard the _Victory_? How long would that run take, empty? Could she outrun the Portuguese flagship? How did Jack know this? Could he outrun Captain Siza? Captain Ruah? How about deMoura, hypothetically speaking, if they had met, back in his prime?

Jack answered every one of her questions evenly, calmly, and, as far as Daniel could tell, truthfully. When Sam paused and leaned back to peel an orange, she bit her lip and regarded him, then carefully offered to place a slice in his mouth. He let her, holding her gaze. It made a strange thrill trace itself up Daniel's spine.

"Questioning is thirsty work," Daniel said, after clearing his throat uncomfortably, and Sam glanced at him, then at Teal'c, and gave Jack a drink of water. Jack leaned back in his chair, affecting relaxation despite the uncomfortable angle of his bound arms.

He said, "Can I assume you're done picking what's left of my brain, Madame Carter?"

"For the moment," Sam said.

"So how about a final kiss goodbye to my brass and my silver and my charts, before you bundle them off to your _Avalon_?"

Sam smiled and shook her head, as she got up and brushed the crumbs from her hands and her lap. "Not possible, I'm afraid."

Jack continued, "And do you need any help finding my keys, or are you planning on simply picking all the locks in my cabin?"

"My reputation has preceded me," Sam said, winking at Daniel. She produced Jack's keys from her pocket, and held them up. They jingled slightly, catching the morning light, and then without a backward glance she unhurriedly made for the hatch.

Jack turned his attention to Teal'c. "So then. I don't know if you're going to hang me right now as an example to my men, or go for the ransom in Napoli--"

"No one's talking about hanging anyone," Daniel hastily put in.

Jack laughed, low and grim.

Teal'c said, "You are incorrect, Daniel Jackson. Someone is talking about it -- Captain O'Neill."

"Oh, but you're definitely thinking about it," Jack said to Teal'c, and his smile was dark and humorless.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Daniel put both hands on the table and leaned in.

"Teal'c. Stop this. Now. Captain O'Neill has been entirely cooperative and is obviously willing to share any amount of valuable information with us. Surely you'll fulfill the agreement he made with you yesterday."

"I made no agreement with him," Teal'c said crisply.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to play it. But I have," Daniel said. "And I intend to hold to it."

Teal'c stood, slowly and without aggression, but the look on his face made Daniel stand, too. Jack would have, but Rak'nor's hand on his shoulder kept him in his chair.

"Daniel Jackson, what have you done?" Teal'c said. His voice was level, his demeanor stoic, but Daniel knew that was a mask.

He answered carefully, choosing his words as slowly as if he were landing among shoal rocks. "We lost yesterday, Teal'c. We were surprised, taken off guard, and beaten in a fair fight. I was captured, and hard as that has been for me to accept, I find it.... ominous. Significant, if you will. No one except Jack O'Neill has ever gotten the drop on us like that. And he was sailing for Portugal. You know how the politics there can change faster than the winds off Greece. And you know how much we've enraged the Americans. It's a sign of the times, Teal'c. Perhaps a sign we should heed. For the rest...." Daniel blushed as red as the apples on the table, but held Teal'c's gaze without flinching. "The rest was a surprise.... In any case," he continued, firming his voice, "think how much worse our situation would be, if it had been any other captain who had accomplished that ambush."

"I told you the truth yesterday, Teal'c," Jack said softly. "I came to these waters looking only for him. And I did not harm him."

Teal'c's composure broke, and he glared at Jack. "Daniel may speak of portents and omens, but what is that to me? Here is the only truth I am concerned with: The _Isis_ , cannon-blasted, and sunk! What of the thirty-two dead yesterday, and of my lost ship?"

"And twelve men of mine dead," Jack reminded him.

Teal'c's response made Daniel gasp. "Your twelve died not for honor, or for loyalty, but for your selfish lust. Not a cause to be proud of."

"What was I supposed to do, but attack?" Jack shouted, pushing himself to his feet, heedless of Rak'nor's grip. "Sail up beside you all and ask politely for one Daniel Ballard Jackson, of Boston, late of Tripoli? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"Thirty-two dead," Teal'c repeated.

"Pirates all, and a price on their heads in every capital of Europe," Jack shot back.

Daniel, his heart racing, interjected, "Yes, they died, as they always die -- honorably, and in full understanding of what they risked by sailing with us."

"Yes, they knew the risk, now they are dead -- it is this man before us who is responsible," Teal'c said, and then he turned his stony gaze back to Jack. "We lost in battle, I'll give you that -- and only then you told me whom you sought."

"And I haven't harmed him. And I freed you, and I did not pursue Carter," Jack said, soft and careful.

Teal'c folded his arms, still towering over them both. "A risky play, O'Neill, and you can see clearly today how your gambit failed. Did you really expect me to run?"

"No," Jack said. "I expected to have to fight you again, or at least do a better job of eluding your ambush. Carter's the best navigator I've ever seen and I knew she'd pursue eventually. But perhaps my judgment was a little clouded. Especially in the night." He looked at Daniel then, directly and without shame.

Daniel swallowed hard and cast the final die. He'd made his choice. Now he had to live with it, or die for it. It gave him a curious feeling of reckless wonder, like the long moments before the first order to fire or to board. Indeed, the tide had turned for him. He wasn't lying about that, he discovered. He raised his chin and said to Teal'c, "Yesterday I was yours; your captain, taking your orders…… But today, I have surrendered." Teal'c's frown disappeared, his face again becoming a calm mask which showed nothing. Daniel continued, "I'm asking you, in the name of all we've done together, to let this go here. To accept my decision." Teal'c shook his head, disbelieving. "Teal'c," Daniel pleaded. "Maybe you don't believe that this is good time to change our tactics, to get out of the game for a while. You don't believe this day is a portent of anything. Fine. So, set all that aside. But, but there is also this. You've never done anything reckless in the name of love?"

Teal'c's gaze snapped to Jack's. "What have you told him?"

"I thought you said you had no secrets from your captains," Jack said, switching back to Arabic with a sneer.

"I do not. Yet some secrets are only revealed in their proper time and place, and some stories are best told by those who were present and not repeated as gossip."

"Well, let's see," Jack began, looking at the sky. "I wasn't there for the end of the tale, but I had the story from Bra'tac, who technically wasn't there either, but you could say--"

"Enough!" Teal'c shouted. "Enough of your tactics of delay, your obfuscation, your suborning of my crew. Rak'nor -- go below. Search the rest of _Victory's_ men, and double the guard." Rak'nor turned and ran, calling for his men as he went. Teal'c turned again to Jack. "How much time did you think you were buying for Kawalsky's second ambush below? You try my patience, O'Neill."

"It's not I who is trying your patience, Commander. You never had any with me to begin with. And I too am getting tired of these word games. Tell Daniel about Drey'ac and Fro'tak, and how I destroyed your honor, or don't tell him. Tell him about your son, and about Ishta. It's all one to me. But either hang me now, or let me and my crew go. What are you waiting for?"

Teal'c, with a muffled growl, strode around the table and hauled Jack to his feet by his shirtfront. "How dare you?" he said. "How dare you talk to me of honor?"

"Teal'c," Daniel cried, and grabbed for his shoulder. It was like grabbing a mountain. Immovable. "Teal'c. Please. You have my ship. You have Jack's. Let the bloodshed end now. Let me go with him."

Teal'c held there, staring at Jack, and finally he released his shirt and pushed him aside. Jack staggered, but kept his feet. Teal'c faced Daniel.

"This is what you want."

"Yes."

Teal'c bowed his head for a long moment, and then turned, calling for his crew. "Both of them! Over the side! Now," he shouted. "We ransom O'Neill's crew in Tripoli, and then sell every man whose government will not buy him back. Send word to Captain Carter to set a new course." He left Daniel and Jack where they stood, and strode to the rail and waited, refusing to so much as glance at Daniel. Motionless, he stared out to sea.

Some of the crew within earshot began to murmur, but some obeyed, though they were frowning. One of the crew began tying Daniel's hands behind his back, and others moved to grab Jack by the shoulders and push him toward the side of the ship. Daniel glanced at Jack. How had it come to this? A crowd gathered, a noisy crowd, crewmen neglecting their duties to push closer, some beginning to raise their voices, some calling Daniel's name. The sails began to fill. Jack and Daniel were pushed through the growing hubbub to the rail near Teal'c.

Coburn appeared, dragging Kawalsky with him, a knife at his throat, with Rak'nor holding Kawalsky's other arm.

"Sir," Coburn shouted. "They were prying up the hinges of the cell doors. Three of them."

Teal'c nodded grimly, and finally, he turned to Daniel.

"Goodbye, Daniel Jackson. This is not the end I imagined for our partnership, nor how I expected you to repay me."

Daniel regarded Teal'c with a sinking heart. It couldn't end this way. It was wrong, so wrong. He didn't want to die, not like this, and Teal'c didn't have to kill them. There was another way. A way out. There had to be. "I don't want to say goodbye, Teal'c," he urged, speaking loudly, so all around could hear. "I don't want to die this way. There's another choice. Don't you see? We've come a long way from the dungeons of Monte Carlo, my friend. You and I, and Sam. But the tide is running. Don't you feel it?"

"I believe that you do," Teal'c said, heavily. "Whatever portents you read into this, they are a mask for cowardice. I would not have believed it of you." He jerked his head, indicating the ocean. If the crew tossed the three of them in, hands tied? In these dangerous waters? Miles from shore?

"Not cowardice! Never that." Daniel leaned toward him, desperate now, straining against Rak'nor's hands. "Let us go. That was Jack's plan, you know. He told his own crew that he was taking me to Gibraltar, and thence to Boston and prison, but as he said -- one night can change a man's life."

Teal'c glared at him, eyes narrowed. "You threw away our friendship. You insult me, and you insult Sam Carter and all we've done together."

"No. I'm simply changing sides. And I believe you have not forgotten how that feels."

Teal'c's face changed, and Daniel pressed his advantage.

"You must remember: I know you do. It was you who found me, in those dungeons. Your prince had kidnapped Sha're, killed her, but you chose to help me -- me! An American, an infidel, a stranger. You helped me then, against your better judgment, and we escaped together. Yes, you know exactly how it feels to change sides."

Rak'nor ungently hauled him back, as he tried to lean close to Teal'c, and Rak'nor shoved him to stand against Jack. Jack was tense, too, Daniel could feel it all along his frame, and Daniel risked a glance at his dark gaze. A muscle jumped in the line of Jack's jaw.

He added his plea to Daniel's: "Help me now, and I swear to you I will never sail against you again," Jack said, low and terse. "Bra'tac has never doubted my word, as long as I've known him."

Teal'c regarded them both for a long moment. Daniel's heart leaped. Teal'c said to Rak'nor: "Take them both below. Lock them in the captain's cabin. Kawalsky stays with me. No one is to speak of this -- No one!"

He turned away, making for the wheel.

"Teal'c," Daniel called after him, but Jack elbowed him and he subsided. A shove from behind got them both moving, and Daniel stumbled, still watching Teal'c's receding back, following Rak'nor and Jack below once again.

Left alone, the crew murmured and muttered, uneasily moving about until the order was passed to make sail, and suddenly everyone had more to do than think.

Sam was still in Jack's old cabin when Rak'nor opened the door. Crewmen milled about her, arms full of charts and navigation tools, swords and knives, silver goblets and platters -- the assorted plunder of Jack's quarters. She took in Daniel's bound arms with a quick glance, and frowned.

"What is going on? I hear the ship making sail; we have to move all this to _Avalon_ now, Rak'nor -- I need more time to get it there. And Daniel! Why--"

Rak'nor said, "We're for Tripoli now, Captain Carter. Teal'c can tell you the rest. I'm to lock them in here."

"Both of them?" Sam said, incredulous. Her men were filing out, laden with their treasures, and Daniel watched Jack watching them go. Daniel could only guess at how he was feeling. But then, he'd been willing to leave all this behind voluntarily, hadn't he? Jack looked impassive and completely unbowed, despite everything.

Daniel said, "Teal'c has given us a respite, Sam. But I've deceived you." He straightened, knowing this news would hurt her. "If Teal'c releases Jack, I'm going with him."

"What?" Her eyes were wide, and the sextant she held clattered to the table.

"I surrendered to Jack, yesterday, while you all escaped. I can't -- I won't -- go back on that now."

"Daniel, this is madness." She stepped behind him and drew her knife to cut his arms free. "Of course you can't go. You're coming with us. Now. We have _Victory_ to replace _Isis_ , we'll make a fortune in ransom on the crew -- it's a new beginning, Daniel."

His hands free, he turned and took her gently by the arms. "I can't, Sam. I gave my word. And furthermore, I don't want to."

"We both gave our word," Jack said, and Sam looked at him, then, frowning in disbelief. "We'll help you, when we can. We won't fight against you, ever again. But if Teal'c lets us go, we're going."

Daniel glanced at him, and back at Sam.

"It's really over for you," Sam said, searching Daniel's face. "You really did surrender, and really did mean it."

"It's time," Daniel said. Sam backed up, out of his grasp, and there were tears in her eyes.

"I expect you two to take good care of my ship," Jack said, and she bit her lip. Then she glanced around the cabin with a listening look.

"We're making way. I have to go; I have to get to _Avalon_." But she hesitated in the doorway, staring at Daniel. "I can't believe it. I can't believe I have to say goodbye to you. I can't believe you really want this." She looked at Jack, who was staring at Daniel with a soft and unguarded expression. "There's more to it than surrender, isn't there? Much more, that you're not telling me."

"I'm going with Jack," Daniel repeated. "And let's not think of it as goodbye. I suspect we'll meet again, you and I."

Sam glanced at Jack, looking thoughtful and sad. "I hope so," she said, and with one last, lingering look at Daniel, she left them there together. They heard Rak'nor lock the door behind her.

A silence fell. Daniel could feel the ship begin to shift under his feet, feel the wood begin its subtle strain against the sea. The muffled cries of the crew could be heard aloft. Jack was leaning a hip on his table, where he and Daniel had dined only last night. His former table, Daniel told himself. This all belonged to Teal'c, now. As did the two of them. It was not a happy thought. He glanced around the cabin, which Sam had left in disarray.

"And here we are again, just the two of us," Jack said lightly.

Daniel sighed. Absently chafing the rope marks on his arms, he looked around. Sam had freed him, but Jack was still bound. Perhaps in their haste to be gone, Sam's crew had dropped a knife, or at least a letter opener. He searched through open drawers and pigeonholes and among the detritus left on the deck for something with which to cut Jack's bonds, but there was nothing. Jack even pointed him to a secret compartment in the stern window sill, but it too stood open and empty. Sam was thorough, and she was good.

Daniel had to pick at the knots with his fingers, which took forever, but eventually he and Jack were standing together at the big casement, looking out at _Victory's_ sparkling wake.

It all felt strangely familiar.

"We could jump, you know," Daniel said.

"Nah. No need. I don't think he means to kill us," Jack said.

"You think he was moved by what I said?"

"I believe he was," Jack said, studying Daniel's face. He carefully reached up and cupped his hand around Daniel's neck. He brought Daniel's face to his and kissed him, slowly and gently and thoughtfully.

"I have no idea what tomorrow will bring," Jack said. "But I have to tell you: Despite everything, I have no regrets."

Daniel smiled in spite of his fears, and pulled Jack close. He smelled of sweat and the sea, and his arms were warm and strong. His mouth was yielding, and it was so easy for Daniel to lose himself in it, along with his fears and his too-busy thoughts. It took the sound of the bolts being shot back to make them step apart. Daniel glanced at Jack in surprise as Rak'nor shoved an unbound and disheveled looking Kawalsky through the door. He was carrying a loaf of bread and a water skin.

"Look," Jack said delightedly. "Lunch!"

"This Teal'c," Kawalsky said, glaring askance at Daniel, and tossing the water to Jack. "You really think we can trust him?"

"Yes," Jack said, drinking deeply, and then handing the water to Daniel.

Kawalsky had perched a hip on the table and was eating a torn-off hunk of the bread. "Because you're not going to believe the plan he's decided on."

~~~~

The sea breeze kissed the sweat from Daniel's forehead as he reached to give Jack a last hand up. Jack's restored scabbard knocked noisily against his boot as he made the last scrabble over the lip of the cliff.

Teal'c had put them off _Victory_ just before sunrise on a deserted beach on the Spanish coast, with their swords, some food, the clothes on their backs, and a bag of gold that represented a very small part of Daniel's share. It was a downpayment, of a sort. Kawalsky, in exchange for freedom for himself and Jack's surviving crew, had promised to spread the story that Jack and Daniel had been executed by an enraged Teal'c. He, along with Jack's men, had been herded into a longboat, and left within rowing distance of an island claimed by Spain. Daniel was pretty sure that Jack and Kawalsky had managed some whispered plans for a secret rendezvous date in the distant future, but he was sure that Teal'c, like himself, had simply overlooked that.

It was more than Daniel could have hoped for or believed, after the way the previous day had begun, when he had crawled on deck to see Teal'c duelling with Jack. It made his head spin with relief. He wondered how Jack felt. Soon he might screw up the courage to ask. He glanced aside. Jack looked tired, but content. He was adjusting the bandage on his shoulder.

Standing on the cliff's edge, they could still mark _Victory's_ sails, but soon she disappeared around a promontory. Her new sisters _Avalon_ and _Abydos_ were long gone with the night. Daniel sucked in a deep breath and released it. So this was freedom. This is what it felt like.

"Hmm," he ventured. "Lake Constance by way of the Alhambra?"

"A splendid idea," Jack answered, in equally perfect Spanish, and Daniel laughed out loud.

It was as if a great weight had fallen from his shoulders. He turned from the glowing sea to look at the rolling hills before them, dotted with scrub and boulders. The land felt strangely solid and unyielding under his feet. He'd get used to it, he supposed. Eventually.

He resettled his coat, dislodged during the climb.

"Well, then, let's go," he said, and Jack smiled at him, and together, they turned toward the rising sun.

  
the end.


End file.
